BBC
France and AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, 30, could be on Chelsea's transfer agenda again in the next window following 27-year-old Spaniard Robert Sanchez's performance against Manchester United. He is free to sign a pre-contract agreement in January as his current deal expires next summer, and was wanted by the Blues in the summer. (Daily Express), external
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has urged midfielder Carlos Baleba to remain grounded despite rumours of a move, with Manchester United interested in signing the 21-year-old Cameroon international in the summer. (Daily Mirror), external
Everton are considering a move for free-agent defender Sergio Reguilon, 28, although the former Tottenham Hotspur full-back is said to prefer a move back to his Spanish homeland. (Football Insider), external
Sevilla's Ruben Vargas, 27, remains on Spurs' radar should they decide to pursue a winger in January. Boss Thomas Frank may focus on a central midfielder, but the Swiss international remains an option further up the pitch. (Football Insider), external
West Ham United are considering all managerial options as pressure builds on Graham Potter following Saturday's defeat to Crystal Palace. (Sky Sports), external
Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are all interested in signing 28-year-old Juventus and Brazil defender Gleison Bremer. (Teamtalk), external
Crystal Palace are expected to rebuff any offer for England midfielder Adam Wharton, 21, in the January transfer window, with Liverpool and Real Madrid keen. (Football Insider), external
Bayern Munich's French defender Dayot Upamecano, 26, has his eyes on a move to Real Madrid when his contract expires next summer. (Marca - in Spanish), external
Tottenham Hotspur are keen to make 30-year-old Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha's loan deal from Bayern Munich permanent in January. (TBR Football)
Sky Paper Talk
THE TELEGRAPH
West Ham United will consider making a short-term appointment to the end of the season as the club look at potential successors to Graham Potter.
THE SUN
Former Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo is the early bookies' favourite to replace Graham Potter at West Ham.
PSG's clash with Marseille has been postponed to Monday evening, meaning that it will now clash with the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
DAILY MAIL
England's kits for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have reportedly been leaked, with the Football Association seemingly opting for a safe design following the controversy over their Euro 2024 attire.
THE EXPRESS
Luke Shaw has acknowledged Roy Keane's scathing assessment of his performance against Man City and conceded the former Manchester United skipper was justified in his harsh words.
DAILY RECORD
Regan Charles Cook believes Motherwell have the chance to "do something special" at Hampden.
SCOTTISH SUN
Birmingham boss Chris Davies has jumped to Kyogo Furuhashi's defence after his slow start.
The Athletic
Graham Potter’s West Ham future: What we’re hearing
By Roshane Thomas
It was a nadir in a managerial tenure full of lowlights.
As Graham Potter stood on the touchline at West Ham’s London Stadium on Saturday, his side sliding to a dismal 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, West Ham fans left him in no doubt as to their feelings about his reign.
Chants of, “You don’t know what you’re doing” and, “You’re getting sacked in the morning” echoed around the ground, the first time that the West Ham home crowd had turned on Potter en masse.
The reaction was sparked by Potter’s decision to withdraw midfielder Mateus Fernandes for Soungoutou Magassa in the 78th minute, but resentment had been building all afternoon, with West Ham booed from the field at half-time as they trailed 1-0. There were more jeers at the full-time whistle, although most home fans had long since left.
Potter is expected to remain at the helm for the next league fixture at Everton next week but his position is under serious threat, with West Ham sounding out potential replacements.
The Athletic has spoken to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their positions, to build a picture of Potter’s position at the club and who would be in line to replace him.
Why is Potter under pressure?
Results. Since replacing Julen Lopetegui in January, Potter has won just six of his 25 games at West Ham. In the Premier League era, only Avram Grant boasts a worse record.
Karren Brady, the vice-chair, championed Potter’s appointment and he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, which does not include a break clause, having said he did not want to accept a deal that only lasted until the end of last season. But it has proven to be an underwhelming appointment, and while the season is only five games old, a relegation battle looms large.
West Ham are 19th with four defeats in their first five games. Potter’s side have regressed defensively, having conceded 13 goals, seven of which have come from corners, the highest in the Premier League, with the latest coming against Palace on Saturday when Jean-Philippe Mateta headed in after Marc Guehi’s initial effort from Will Hughes’ delivery had hit the bar. Last campaign West Ham only conceded eight goals from corners.
Defender Jean-Clair Todibo has fallen out of favour at the London Stadium, while goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, the £20million ($27m) summer signing from Leicester City, started games against Sunderland, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur but was dropped for the defeat byPalace, which was their third home defeat in London derbies this season.
One source close to a senior player expressed some sympathy for the hand Potter has been dealt but also has concerns over the team’s lack of identity. There is a feeling that the 50-year-old is not helping himself with some of his decision-making.
Potter abandoned his wing-back system for the 3-0 away win against Nottingham Forest. He has since reverted to a 4-2-3-1 formation but the midfield pairing of Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse has struggled, as has the central defensive duo of Maximilian Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos. Academy graduate Freddie Potts impressed in pre-season but the midfielder has only played 45 league minutes across the five games.
Asked whether he was confident he had the support of West Ham’s board, Potter told reporters: “I have no reason to think not but I also understand the environment and the results. I understand we’re in a tough situation. We want to do better than we are and at the moment we’re not. We have to work, stick together and find those solutions.”
But it seems increasingly unlikely he will have the time to find those solutions. After the Everton game, West Ham have a daunting trip to Arsenal and there is then an international break which offers an obvious window of opportunity for change.
Who is in the frame to replace Potter?
Former Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has held several conversations with West Ham’s board as they weigh up whether to dismiss Potter.
The club first entertained the possibility of Nuno replacing Potter when he was sacked by Forest earlier this month, after a breakdown in relations between the manager and Edu, Forest’s Global Head of Football.
Last Friday, a picture circulated on social media of Nuno eating at Lot 14, a restaurant in Theydon Bois, Essex, near West Ham majority owner David Sullivan’s home. The Athletic has not been able to verify whether the photo is genuine, nor when it was taken, but it added to the sense of uncertainty around Potter’s position among supporters.
Nuno’s managerial stock is high, having taken Forest to their highest league finish in 30 years last season (seventh) and qualifying for the Europa League. They also reached the FA Cup semi-finals.
Slaven Bilic, the former West Ham defender and who was in charge of the club between 2015 and 2017, leading them to a seventh-placed finish in his first season, has also held talks with the club’s hierarchy. Bilic, still a popular figure with many West Ham fans, has been out of work since leaving his role as head coach of Saudi Arabian club Al Fateh in August 2024.
Another possible option for West Ham is another former West Ham player, Gary O’Neil. There has been no direct contact with the 42-year-old, who has not had a managerial job since being sacked by Wolverhampton Wanderers last December, but he is ready to return to management and is likely to be interested if the West Ham job was to become avaiable.
How much pressure is the board under?
It is not just Potter who is feeling the heat in east London. Before the defeat by Palace, hundreds of supporters protested against Sullivan and Brady, who were both present at the London Stadium on Saturday.
They gathered on Marshgate Lane, outside the entrance for the team coach and club officials, and chanted, “David Sullivan, get out of our club”, “hands up if you hate the board” and “we’re not West Ham anymore”.
The demonstration, which was organised by supporters group Hammers United, lasted roughly an hour and was designed to be the start of a series of co-ordinated protests against the club hierarchy. The group have also urged fans to boycott the home fixture against Brentford on October 20, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
West Ham fans protest before the Palace game (Roshane Thomas/The Athletic)
“I knew it would be a good turnout and it’s about what I expected,” Paul Colborne, chair of Hammers United, told The Athletic. “It’s a good start and we have to remember, a lot of people who felt strongly about the board are no longer here. So it was great to see a lot of youngsters, kids and women. That was very encouraging, plus there wasn’t any trouble. The board has to go and this (fight against them) cannot end. We’re not going to give up.
“I’m well aware that if West Ham were to win three games in a row, there would be 6,000 people on a march as opposed to 10,000. But those 6,000 would mean more than the 10,000. This isn’t going to fold if we start winning.
“A lot of people here don’t go to games anymore. Fans have had enough. I don’t expect Sullivan and Brady to confront fans like this. I know it’s safe but they don’t. We have a fan advisory board and the board meeting them were small signs of progress. But the statement they produced was terrible, condescending and insulting. We’ve had enough and that’s why we want Brady and Sullivan to stand down.”